Halesowen Harriers vs Gresley Rovers
Gresley cup joy – Andy Parker – Burton Mail
There was a shadow across the smiles as Gresley Rovers celebrated their second cup win in a week at Chasetown last night.
For while Rovers were able to stand back and admire a mass of silverware after picking up the Banks’s League Cup and league runners-up trophy, the prize the club has coveted most of all was absent.
Gresley will go down as cup double winners after their Derbyshire Senior Cup triumph over Stapenhill and last night’s emphatic win. But Blakenall lifted the title crown last Saturday, pipping Gresley by a single point.
Every Rover was saying the same during last night’s celebrations. “It’s great to win the cup, but a pity about the league.”
For 90 minutes last night, though, all those troubles were forgotten as Gresley, with an admirable sense of timing, rekindled the spark that kept them top of the league for so long during a memorable campaign.
Halesowen Harriers have made a remarkable rise over five years from Sunday football to the heights of West Midlands soccer, establishing themselves as one of the Banks’s League’s top sides. Last night, though, they were distinctly second best.
And in a game that mirrored the previous Thursday’s Senior Cup clash at Stapenhill, Gresley clicked early on, dominated the opening half, went in with a comfortable lead and defended it, with no great sweat, for a largely unremarkable second half.
Gresley moved smoothly into gear from the off and soon had Harriers going back on their heels.
Neil Lovell, outstanding on the left, exposed the chinks in Harriers’ armour with an early cross that went begging before Tracey Norton, showing signs that his best form was returning, flashed two long range efforts wide and Paul Acklam headed another Lovell cross over.
There was momentary concern as Martin Dick and skipper Dean Page, making an early return from a knee sprain, both seemed to be struggling.
Harriers briefly seized the initiative and Steve Field hammered a shot into Bob Aston’s body after Martin Haskins had dropped a backpass short of the keeper. Then Steve Brain almost profited from Page’s poor clearance, launching a 20-yard drive just wide.
But Gresley drew breath and stormed back. Lovell went down in the box but the free kick was awarded outside, Steve Astley hammered a free kick against a defensive wall, Kieron Smith shot over from six yards after Norton had headed down Richard Denby’s cross.
The John Bottomley turned up in the Halesowen box to flick a header towards the foot of the post from Martin Dick’s cross but keeper Tim Clarke clawed the ball to safety.
A goal had to come and Rovers’ followers were not kept waiting much longer. The ball flowed crossfield via Norton and Acklam’s dummy to Lovell where defender Glen Pooler dived in. This time it was a penalty and Norton converted coolly from the spot.
He nearly had a second after climbing above two defenders to reach another Lovell cross, Clarke again saving well, before Harriers came close to a leveller, Paul Thomlinson scraping the bar from 25 yards.
Gresley needed another goal to be comfortable and it came just a couple of minutes from half time. Martin Haskins booted a clearance from one half to another and Smith taunted and teased defender Les Randle before hammering in a low shot that Clarke reached but could not keep out of the net.
Denby sent a dipping volley just over at the start of the second half then repeated the trick with a 25 yard free kick but the action was confined largely to midfield by now as Harriers strove to find away back into the tie.
Even a double substitution could not do the trick, and when Steve Brain was carried off after Bottomley’s tackle the cup had only one destination.
Gresley Rovers (2) 2
Halesowen Harriers (0) 0
Played at Chasetown.
Scorers: Norton (pen) 28, Smith 42.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Bottomley, Dick, Denby, Haskins, Page, Astley, Norton (Maddocks 85), Smith, Acklam, Lovell. Sub not used: Perry.
Halesowen Harriers: Clarke, Williams (Carr 68), Tomlinson, C Field, Randle, Brain, S Field, Pooler, Hall, Mason, Woodhouse. Sub not used: Cooper.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Neil Lovell.
Referee: J Singh (Wloverhampton).
Attendance: 450
